Best Gundam TV series?

[garfield15]

I'm tired of doing toku polls. Let's try an anime one for a while.

Us Gundam fans have got a Showa/Heisei thing too ya know. Of course, ours lies in fictional universes of the UC vs. AU's. Anyway, Not including OVA's/one-shots/manga/etc., let's vote on the best TV Gundam series.

And I will get back to you as soon as I think of mine.

(I would have separated SEED and Destiny into separate votes but, the poll only allows 10 so sorry)

and now, because this is an awesome picture

 

[Lynxara]

Here I shall be controversial (for a Western fan) and throw my vote behind First Gundam. That was a genuinely groundbreaking series, but Zeta (which has its moments) turned Gundam into a franchise. From that point onward, just about every Gundam TV project has been severely compromised in one way or another.

Some Gundam series managed to be reasonably interesting despite this, like the delightfully demented G Gundam, thanks to having rebellious creative teams unafraid of pissing off anyone from fans to Bandai. Other shows, most notably 00, are absolute shells of what the same creative team could've produced outside the constraints of the Gundam franchise.

 

[MrMonk]

Gundam 00 was the right mix of flash and substance for me.

 

[MetalSymphony]

G Gundam.
It was funny, action packed and who can't forget "SHINING FINGER!!!!"

 

[Sage Shinigami]

Here I shall be controversial (for a Western fan) and throw my vote behind First Gundam. That was a genuinely groundbreaking series, but Zeta (which has its moments) turned Gundam into a franchise. From that point onward, just about every Gundam TV project has been severely compromised in one way or another.

Some Gundam series managed to be reasonably interesting despite this, like the delightfully demented G Gundam, thanks to having rebellious creative teams unafraid of pissing off anyone from fans to Bandai. Other shows, most notably 00, are absolute shells of what the same creative team could've produced outside the constraints of the Gundam franchise.

Actually, I hear that a lot from Western fans. (...The ones that don't think SEED is the greatest series ever, that is.)

My favorite? 08th MS Team. That's the one that doesn't at some point mess it all up. Mobile Suit Gundam was groundbreaking...but I'm a youngster (comparatively). I know what it did, but that's just facts in my head--it doesn't resonate.

Zeta Gundam's a great series, but it bends over backwards to get dark on me. The ending irritated me, but more importantly I REALLY HATED how in Zeta Gundam the Argama crew treated Kamille like crap from start to finish, despite him being an ace pilot.

Gundam Wing has a really special place in my heart, but looking back a lot of it was kinda like...psuedo-intellectual, maybe? (Possibly the wrong word.) Like it worked hard to be deep but the substance wasn't there. I love it, but denying that would be silly.

G Gundam? My thoughts on that one are comedic. Likely best not said here--people love this series a lot.

ZZ Gundam I've not finished, but while I love it thus far, its clearly not on the level of MSG and Z, even though I far prefer this cast to either series.

Never watched Victory, Turn A or X.

Gundam 00 feels like Wing done right--with more of a focus on the characters and their relationships with fewer gaping plotholes. But I hear they botched it at the finish line with S2. Someone would have to tell me if that's right or not.

 

[Transfotaku]

The poll is wrong! It needs to be, "What's the best Gundam series after G-Gundam?"

G gets my vote. It's Gundam done awesomely. I'm sick of the whiny teen emo pilot, the newtype godhax, the Gundam blowing up all the grunt suits like it was Mazinger fighting a bunch of snails. Far too common tropes in most Gundams, and after you see it once, it's not as fun.


But, give us a series where EVERYONE runs in a Gundam, and EVERYONE is an awesome pilot fueled by ideals, and you got something fun. The setting can be whatever you want to be, another Gundam Fight, classic Gundam colonies vs Earth, whatever. I just like the awesome Gundam fighting formula of G.

G was just damn fun to watch. And when you wanna watch entertainment, you wanna be entertained. That's damn fun to watch shows.

 

[Nanami Tenkawa]

G Gundam is my best vote. love the battle scenes and the story plotline. because Touhou Fuuhai Master Asia's badasseries! also Domon can beat everyone especially that Jesus Yamato, even Perfect Soldier Heero and Setsuna F. Seiei too! Chou Kyuu Haoh! DENEIDAN!!! ^_~

 

[Lynxara]

That's the one that doesn't at some point mess it all up.

Episode 12? :sweat:

Actually I didn't mind that episode, but people who liked it because HELL YEAH VIETNAM GUNDAM are so embarrassed about it to this day.

In general I think almost every Gundam series has something good or interesting to offer. But, I kind of wish we had more original series and less Gundam.

 

[garfield15]

You know what we really need? More Macross. I could watch like 10 Macross series over Gundam. Not joking.

First of all, why don't more people watch X? It's so good. Not amazing but it's good.

I really think Wing is overrated, yeah I said it. I had a more than a few issues with Wing but I acknowledge it's good parts.

As for my favorite, well currently, after one episode, I can already conclude that unless it totally f**** up at the end, Unicorn will probably be a favorite but this is TV series so in a toss-up between my favorites MSG, G and 00....I'm gonna go with 00.

 

[Lynxara]

First of all, why don't more people watch X? It's so good. Not amazing but it's good.

I've seen X, though it was years ago, and in retrospect the show just strikes me as Gundam SEED's grandfather. "You know what this franchise needs? Ludicrous power levels, constant ill-motivated fighting, and tits." I find it interesting that SEED's director called it out as his least-favorite series when he made practically the same thing.

The Satellite System was cool, the Frost Brothers were conceptually pretty neat villains, and it had some interesting ideas for Newtypes. Didn't like most of the characters, though, and the show did surprisingly little with its post-apocalyptic setting.

I really think Wing is overrated, yeah I said it. I had a more than a few issues with Wing but I acknowledge it's good parts.

I'm not huge on Wing, either, to me it feels like a very formulaic series for that era of Sunrise. Most of its interesting points are in the direction and presentation. The themes and characters are more second-hand than usual even for 90s mecha, let alone Gundam.